The back-to-school season for many families is the return of weekly food prepping, lunchbox packing and hectic after-school and evening schedules. Early mornings make breakfast tricky to fit in. Family dinners are often nonexistent when kids and parents are pulled in different directions for extracurricular activities.

It is challenging but very important to keep everyone’s energy up with good nutrition. This requires some thought and planning at the grocery store and in the kitchen. This process may be a dreaded chore, but making food prep a team activity ensures brains and bodies are tuned up for learning in the classroom and throughout the evening as well.

The internet and social media are full of ideas for healthy foods baked into muffins and bars for grab-and-go convenience during the week. I have found many sites that suggest making a three-column list of proteins, fruits and veggies and whole grains as a helpful tool for mix-and-match meal or snack combinations. This offers a view of how to balance your plates.

Giving everyone in the family a choice in the process may take some pressure off the head-of-household responsibilities and begins teaching nutrition skills to the youngest members.

We try to do the best we can within our personal circumstances each day and take steps to do well, so when days are busy and things don’t go as planned, we have an overall balance in our lives.

Think of a Good-Better-Best system. Good: eating something is better than nothing; eating anything to fuel your activities is better than running on an empty stomach. Better: finding snacks that are natural and less processed; a series of snacks is better than completely skipping meals. Best: a balanced day of foods from all food groups, including lean protein and carbohydrates with fiber, spaced throughout the day.

Using this example, an applesauce squeeze pouch is a good on-the-go fruit; an apple is better because it is natural, includes fiber and has no added sugar; and the best version might be to add a handful of nuts with it for protein or to make a nut butter sandwich with thin-sliced apples on whole wheat bread or tortilla.

Keep snacks prepped and handy to grab on the go. The best combos are protein paired with carbs and fiber. Here are some snack ideas to get you started.

A cousin of peanut butter and jelly: slice the apple or banana onto whole wheat bread or tortilla with some nut butter; whole grain crackers (like wheat thins), cheese and apple slices; peanut butter balls: a mixture of whole grain cereal, peanut butter and honey; celery with peanut butter and raisins; beef jerky; popcorn with light butter; hard-boiled egg and mozzarella cheese stick; vegetables or pretzels with hummus; trail mix: Cheerios with dried fruit such as raisins or craisins, nuts or seeds, mini M&M’s (this comes with a rule that you cannot pick out the best part and leave the rest); and rollups: peanut butter and apple or banana on a tortilla or rolled up sliced ham or turkey and cheese. Pumpkin seeds are a great protein source and can be seasoned for extra flavor.

For meals, crockpots are helpful to cook meat and vegetables. There are plant proteins, such chickpeas and beans, lentils, bean salads, edamame and quinoa and many vegetables that help with protein, fiber and many vitamins, including broccoli, avocado, potatoes, spinach and corn.

Smoothies made with frozen fruit, spinach or kale and maybe nuts or protein powder can be a good breakfast.

Egg casseroles are a great idea for any meal. Whip in some cottage cheese and cooked vegetables such as spinach, peppers, tomatoes or salsa, mushrooms and sausage crumbles. My family would grab a square and eat it warm or cold!

Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day. If today’s food intake wasn’t ideal, you can try again tomorrow and work for balance throughout the week.

Editor’s note: This column was written by Jenn Dietz, Healthy Pantry Initiative chair and pantry comanager.